Nikon in a kayak

[RMW]

Hello All.
I go out to photograph the Louisiana wetlands in a 12' kayak. Been doing it for 15 years. Now considering upgrading camera from a D610 to either a D810 or a D 850.
Which is the better choice or is the D610 still sufficient?

Considerations:
-- Size of body is not much of a concern.
--High pixel count is probably not necessary. I only print up to 13x19.
--It's DR I need, many scenes are extreme from light to dark, but because it's a small boat I usually use IS0 100 or 200. IS0 64 is probably too slow. Could I benefit from better DR at 100 0r 200 0n newer cameras?
-- I do use lenses with VR.
--Is the color in the newer cameras noticeably better?
-- Are the newer cameras noticeably less noisy?
-- The bracketing range on the D610 is only 3.

All suggestions welcome.
Thanks.

Richard
richardwallerphotos.com

[francois]

My last experience on a kayak was more than 30 years ago so I won't be able to offer meaningful advices.

--High pixel count is probably not necessary. I only print up to 13x19.

I would only say that with a higher pixel count, you'll be able to do more cropping post-capture.

[RMW]

Francois,
Thanks for your always good suggestion.
The higher pixel count would be helpful at times, but for right now I'm just not sure it's worth the expense and learning a different body.
Richard

[francois]

Francois,
Thanks for your always good suggestion.
The higher pixel count would be helpful at times, but for right now I'm just not sure it's worth the expense and learning a different body.
Richard

I do understand and also share your point of view. Although I have access to high pixel count cameras, most of the time, I still use my old one. Processing time, larger memory cards and learning a new camera's commands and behaviour is not trivial…

I've never used a D610, is it very different from a D800 or D850?

[RMW]

Francois,
To use, I'm not sure how different they are. (Have never held the other two.) Like you, I have a level of familiarity and ease with a camera, in this case the D610 that I'm reluctant to give up.And hanging from my neck, even with a long lens, it's not too uncomfortable.
Another reason I'll keep the 610 is because it's DR is still sufficient.
Richard

[BernardLanguillier]

I have a bit of experience shooting from kayaks and sailing boats.

When moving slow on kayaks (slow river, lakes or sea "fjords" without swell), I found that image stabilization in sport mode was really helpful.

Recently I have been doing this with my Z7II and prime lenses. The IBIS in the body stabilizes all lenses and helps keep a low ISO, typically 64, while keeping enough Depth of Field. ISO64 does help with DR. In fact it's very close to small medium format.

If the lenses you shoot with have VR then you could achieve the same thing on a D850. I used to use one and it is outstanding. In particular I loved the colors delivered by the D850. Maybe slightly more so than with my Z7II.

Cheers,
Bernard

[armand]

Most likely you won't see a big difference.

Stabilization is the most important for low iso single shots, and easy bracketing for high DR scenes. I still find the Nikon set up for bracketing clunky compared to both my Fuji and Olympus cameras, especially if you are in and out of bracketing.

I use 3 shots bracketing at -2, 0, +2 EV with my OM-1 with good results, more than that it becomes more difficult to maintain a realistic look. With the D610 having slightly more DR than the OM-1, changing to -3,0,+3 should give you plenty DR if you don't want an old HDR look. Not sure how easy/fast is to change the bracketing on the D610.